Agreement

Abstract

Abstract A distinction is made between grammatical and notional agreement. Agreement exists at the clause level and at the noun phrase level. At the clause level grammatical agreement concerns the relationship between the subject and the finite verb form and between the subject and various nominal forms, both the nominal components of finite and infinite verb forms, and subject and object complements. The formal properties of the subject are copied onto the constituents showing agreement. There are a number of well-defined deviations from the general rule, which itself is more complicated if the subject is compound, i.e. if it exists of more than one noun or comparable expression. Notional agreement ignores formal properties of subjects but takes semantic properties into account. At the noun phrase level the head may determine the form of its attribute(s) notably of determiners, adjectives, and quantifiers. Here, too, the rules are more complicated with compound heads.